When Siot was snubbed

There were 20 rookie applicants in the 1996 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) draft and only three weren’t picked.

Of the three undrafted hopefuls, Clifton Claybrooks of Yakima Valley College failed to show up. Claybrooks, who played for Instafoods in the Philippine Basketball League, probably had a feeling he wouldn’t be chosen. The other two were Ariel Marundan of Trinity College and Siot Tanquingcen of the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Believe it or not, the draft went up to the fifth round despite the lean pool. Marlou Aquino was Ginebra’s top overall pick. Second was Rodney Santos, tapped by Purefoods. The other first round choices were Ruben de la Rosa, Arnold Gamboa, Mar Morelos, Gilbert Castillo, Peter Martin and Joselito Rodriguez. The league had only eight active teams that year.

The second round draftees were Richard del Rosario, Leonard Reyes, Rommel Santos, Patrick Fran and Ruel Bravo. Named in the third round were Gerardo Locsin and Richard Superal. Pepsi chose Roel Culala in the fourth round and Segundo de la Cruz in the fifth. PBA chief statistician and archives curator Fidel Mangonon confirmed the order of selection.

Alaska didn’t pick a single player in the draft. The Aces traded their first round pick to Pepsi for Kevin Ramas. Sta. Lucia Realty had only one choice, Gamboa. The Tender Juicy Hot Dogs chose the Slasher, de la Rosa, del Rosario, Reyes and Fran in a bountiful harvest. Pepsi pulled in four picks, namely, Martin, Superal, Culala and de la Cruz–none of whom is now active.

Tanquingcen was unfazed by the snub. He was determined to make it to the pros and eventually broke in as a reserve for Sunkist in 1996. Tanquingcen wound up playing in 39 games in four PBA seasons before concentrating on a coaching career, first as Joseph Uichico’s assistant at San Miguel Beer and finally as bench boss at Ginebra.

One of the ’96 draftees, Rodney Santos, is now a key cog in Tanquingcen’s backcourt rotation. Another Ginebra guard Bal David made his pro debut in 1996, too, although he was drafted the year before.

Not too many know that Tanquingcen passed the Board exams in accounting in 1995. A source said he used to ride a racer bike from his Sta. Mesa home to an office in Makati and back as an employee during his pre-PBA days. He was just being practical–it was good exercise and the best way to beat the traffic.

Humility is a trait that endeared Tanquingcen to his players. Add to the modest coach’s several attributes his patience, dedication and blue-collar work ethic.

Asked if the players doubted his abilities at the onset, Tanquingcen confessed he struggled during the transition period. "I don’t know if they doubted me but it was difficult to adjust to the change in the beginning," he said. "It was like getting to know you. At San Miguel, I was an interim head coach when coach Jong was assigned to the national team but it was a smooth transition because I’d worked with the players before. It was different at Ginebra."

Tanquingcen said it was rough when Ginebra lost five in a row to welcome his arrival. "We lost our focus," he related. "We had to refocus. We had to forget the past. Win or lose, we had to deal with it."

At hindsight, Tanquingcen said he wouldn’t have learned what he knows today if not for the heartaches and pain he endured in finding his place in the basketball sun.

Fate brought Tanquingcen to Ginebra. And the hand of destiny led Ginebra to the championship.

By the way, Tanquingcen politely declined the invitation to coach the South team in the PBA All-Star Game in Cebu next month because of his wedding to long-time girlfriend Rica Tenedora.

Someone said the shy and low-key Tanquingcen would never have gotten to know Rica if they weren’t assigned classroom seats next to each other. Tanquingcen and Tenedora were back-to-back in the alphabetical arrangement. They were accounting classmates at UST.

Although they’ve known each other for 11 years, Tanquingcen didn’t seriously court Rica until after graduation.

On Aug. 7, Tanquingcen and Rica–who works for a computer company–will tie the knot in a Christian ceremony. It’s significant that they chose the 7th day for their wedding. The number 7 played a fateful role in Ginebra’s recent victory in the Fiesta Conference.

The couple will honeymoon at the Maldives, a romantic island paradise.